2:228

Salaam all,

This Aya 2:228
وَالْمُطَلَّقَاتُ يَتَرَبَّصْنَ بِأَنفُسِهِنَّ ثَلاَثَةَ قُرُوَءٍ وَلاَ يَحِلُّ لَهُنَّ أَن يَكْتُمْنَ مَا خَلَقَ اللّهُ فِي أَرْحَامِهِنَّ إِن كُنَّ يُؤْمِنَّ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَبُعُولَتُهُنَّ أَحَقُّ بِرَدِّهِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ إِنْ أَرَادُواْ إِصْلاَحًا وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَلِلرِّجَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَجَةٌ وَاللّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكُيمٌ
Waalmutallaqatu yatarabbasna bianfusihinna thalathata qurooin wala yahillu lahunna an yaktumna ma khalaqa Allahu fee arhamihinna in kunna yuminna biAllahi waalyawmi alakhiri wabuAAoolatuhunna ahaqqu biraddihinna fee thalika in aradoo islahan walahunna mithlu allathee AAalayhinna bialmaAAroofi walilrrijali AAalayhinna darajatun waAllahu AAazeezun hakeemun

The Aya says:
And the divorced women will wait by themselves three menstrual cycles. And, it is not permitted to them that they hide what GOD created in their wombs, if they made themselves safe in Allah and the day of judgement. And their husbands have more right in returning them back in this (possible pregnancy) if they wanted reconciliation. And to them (the divorced women) similar to what is on them, by what is recognized as appropriate. And to the men on them (the divorced women) a level, and Allah is strong, resistant to pressure, wise.

My personal note:
This Aya asks the women that are divorced to have a waiting period of three menstrual cycles before the divorce is finalized. They should not hide a pregnancy, because that may be a reason why the husband may want to reconcile and return them back.

The ending is difficult to translate. It mentioned that women have the similar rights as obligation and that men have a right on the women a level. This therefore indicates that the women have similar rights on the men in return.

It could be understood that the rights of the men on the women are different in nature, and that is the meaning of the word level here. So, while the obligations of men to women are different from the obligations of women to men, they equal each other in their importance.

Translation of the transliterated words:
Waalmutallaqatu: and the women who were divorced /let go
Note: the root is TTa-L-Qaf and it means labor pain attack in the concrete form. In the abstract, it means anything that involves the letting go of something as in the labor process let’s go of the baby from the inside. ALMUTALLAQAT are the women who were divorced or let go.
Yatarabbasna: they enter waiting
Note: the root is R-B-Sad and it means waiting or wait. YATARABBASNA is the third person plural feminine present tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This form of the verb suggests being in the action and out of the action at the same time. It is used to mean entering into the action, hesitating into the action and at times repeatedly entering the action and out of it. In this sense, it means entering into waiting or period of waiting.
Bianfusihinna: by themselves
Note: BI is very difficult to translate. It denotes that the word coming after it is the object of the verb before and /or a tool. In this context, it is an object mainly but with a closer association as to emphasize the action. ANFUSIHINNA is derived from the root N-F-S and it means breath or breathing. This is also used to mean the self because the self breathes. ANFUSIHINNA are their selves or themselves and it is plural feminine. So, BIANFUSIHINNA means by themselves with some emphasis that they are going to be alone without their husbands at that period.
Thalathata: three
Qurooin: menstrual cycles
Note: the root is Qaf-R-Hamza and it means reading in some aspects and menses in others. The common theme that connects the two is the fact that the menses and the reading are two things that come out of orifices of the body. In this sense QUROOIN are menstruations or cycles.
Wala: and not
Yahillu: becomes permitted/ becomes settled
Note: the root is HA-L-L and it means settling something as in settling in a place, or settling something complicated or even permitting something as in being acceptably settled. YAHILLU is the third person singular or plural present or future tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means Becomes settled or becomes permitted.
Lahunna: to them
An: that
Yaktumna: they suppress/they hide
Note: the root is K-T-M and it means in concrete a vine kind of plant that is close to the ground and does not rise on it’s own. In abstract, it means anything that is suppressed so that it is not known or so that it is hidden. YAKTUMNA is the third person plural feminine present of future tense of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means they arrive suppression or they become suppressing. This, in turn means, they suppress or they hide a fact of some sort.
Ma: what
Khalaqa: He created
Note: the root is KH-L-Qaf and it means creating and creation. The word has many little other meanings that revolve around that theme, in concrete, it means the smoothened rock that was shaped that way, so it has the cutting and shaping and making things as part of the meaning. KHALAQA is the third person singular past tense of a verb that is derived from the root. It means HE arrived creation, which in turn means HE created. The HE is the next word coming and that is ALLAH.
Allahu: ALLAH/GOD
Fee: in
Arhamihinna: their wombs
Note: the root is R-Ha-M and it means womb in concrete. ARHAMI is the plural of womb and it means womb of. HINNA means their for females. So, ARHAMIHINNA means their wombs.
In: if
Kunna: they were/became
Note: the root is K-W-N and it means being. KUNNA is the third person plural past tense feminine of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means they arrived being and in this case, it means they were or they became.
Yuminna: they make themselves safe
Note: the root is Hamza-M-N and it means safety. YUMINNA is the third person plural feminine of a verb that is derived from the root. This verb means they make become safe (themselves). This, in turn means: they make themselves safe.
biAllahi: in Allah
Note: BI is very difficult to translate. It denotes that the word coming after it is the object of the verb before and /or a tool. In this context, it is an object mainly but with a closer association as to emphasize the action. ALLAH is GOD. So here, they are safe in GOD and GOD is their way of becoming safe at the same time.
Waalyawmi: and the day
Note: WA means and. ALYAWMI is derived from the root Y-W-M and it means day. ALYAWMI means the day or the day of.
Alakhiri: the remaining/the last
Note: the root is Hamza-KH-R and it means remaining. This means another for objects and later or latest when it comes to time. ALAKHIRI is the remaining or the last. So, ALYAWMI ALAKHIRI is the term that is used for the day of judgement because it is the remaining or the last day.
wabuAAoolatuhunna: and their men/and their husbands
Note: WA means and. BUAAooLATUHUNNA is derived from the root B-Ain-L and it means the high land that gets water only through rain as opposed to springs or rivers. It is also used for the plants that do not need watering. The word is used for the husband as well. The relationship between those uses is not very clear and it may point to some independence in the husband that he has to be self supporting. BuAAooLATUHUNNA means their men or their husbands.
Ahaqqu: have more right/ have more binding right
Note: the root is Ha-Qaf-Qaf and it means binding right. AHAQQAU means has more binding right or just more right
Biraddihinna: in returning them (the wives) back
Note: bi means in here. RADDIHINNA is derived from the root R-D-D and it means returning something or someone back to where they were. RADDIHINNA means returning them back and the them are feminine here and therefore pointing to women.
Fee: in
Thalika: that
In: if
Aradoo: sought/looked for/wanted
Note: the root is R-W-D and it means in concrete, the looking for a place of water and pasture. Therefore, it has the meaning of wanting and looking for at the same time. It also has the meaning of being ahead/pioneer, because tribes would someone ahead of themselves to look for such a place and guide them to it. ARADOO is the third person plural past tense of a verb that is derived from this root. This verb means they became seeking/they became wanting. This, in turn means, they sought.
islahan: doing right/doing what is right/reconciliation
Note: the root is Sad-L-Ha and it means righting as in righting what is wrong and fiXing what is broken whether it is a relation or a tool or any other thing. ISLAHAN here means doing what is right and that includes reconciliation.
Walahunna: and to them (feminine)/to the women
Note: the to here denotes something that is their right
Mithlu: similar to
Note: the root is M-TH-L and it means similar or something to that. MITHLU means similar to.
Allathee: that which is
AAalayhinna: on them (feminine)/on the women
Note: here the on denotes an obligation.
bialmaAAroofi: by what is recognized to be good or appropriate/by what is good
Note: BI means by. It indicates that the word that comes after it is either a tool for the previous verb or an object of the previous verb or both. ALMaAAROOF is derived from the root Ain-R-F and it means the elevated place that will be known or recognized from a distance. ALMaAAROOF is what is recognized. This is also used to mean what it good. This is because, in the Arab mind, what you recognize and acknowledge should be good to you, whereas what you do not recognize or not acknowledge is considered bad to you.
Walilrrijali: and to the men
Note: WA means and. LI means to. ALRIJAL is derived from the root R-J-L and it means leg for the concrete. This also means man, probably, because a man is supposed to stand on his own legs, i.e be independat. ALRIJAL are the men.
AAalayhinna: on them (feminine)
Darajatun: level/step
Note: the root is D-R-J and it means level or stepping for the action as in stepping on the same level or up or down. This is in different planes. DARAJATUN is a level or step and may indicate a certain nature.
waAllahu: and Allah/And GOD
AAazeezun: strong resistant to pressure
Note: the root is Ain-Z-Z and it means strong and resistant to pressure. AAaZIZ is the one who is strong and resistant to pressure at the same time.
Hakeemun: wise/best at steering
Note: the root is Ha-K-M and it means steer of the animals or so forth in the concrete sense. This word is also used to means ruling/judging as well as wisdom, because the best steerer would make the best decision using knowledge, justice and compassion.

Salaam all and have a great day


Hussein